[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 January 2009, 14:00 GMT]Sri Lanka Army (SLA) continued artillery shelling on Udaiyaarkaddu on Saturday killing at least 7 civilians. At least 87 civilians have been wounded in the indiscriminate shelling up to 5:25 p.m. Shells exploded inside the hospital premises of Udaiyaarkaddu. At least 60 shells exploded behind the hospital premises (Udaiyaarkaddu school) around 3:45 p.m. Four civilians were killed on the spot.

Vehicles were seen on fire at Udaiyaarkaddu junction.

Medical authorities said the hospitals were struggling to cope with a high number of civilian casualties.